Checking Pending Court-Case Status in the Philippines – A 2025 Practitioner’s Guide

Executive summary

For most Philippine courts you now have two distinct routes to find out whether a case is still pending:

Where the case is docketed	Fastest public-facing route	Typical turnaround
Supreme Court	“Home – Case Status” page + SC Public Information Office hotline/email	Real-time for basic docket data; 1-3 days for PIO replies (Supreme Court of the Philippines)
Court of Appeals	Case-Status Inquiry 3.0 portal	Instant search by party, docket No., or legal issue (services.ca.judiciary.gov.ph)
Sandiganbayan	Year-folder search on the court website	Manual but same-day for public decisions/docket orders (Supreme Court of the Philippines)
Court of Tax Appeals	CTA “Case Status” search (case No./party)	Instant; covers both Division and En Banc dockets
Regular trial courts	eCourt PH v2.0 (pilot sites) or Clerk of Court walk-in request	Pilot sites: real-time; elsewhere: 1 day–several weeks (Supreme Court of the Philippines, Tribune)

Bottom line: Start online, but be prepared to visit or formally request records when the court is not yet on eCourt PH or when the file is confidential.

1. The legal foundation for public access

1987 Constitution, Art. III §7 – guarantees the people’s right to information on matters of public concern (including court records) subject to lawful limits (LawPhil).
Rule on Access to Information about the Supreme Court (2019, amended 2022) – lays down request forms, ID requirements, 10-day action period, and a fee schedule for copies .
Rule on Access to Court Records (A.M. No. 03-06-13-SC, mirrored in OCA Circulars) – applies to trial courts; lets any person “with legitimate interest” inspect dockets, unless sealed by law.
Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R.A. 10173) – courts must redact sensitive personal data in public copies and can deny requests that violate privacy or security (LawPhil).
Executive Order 2 (2016 FOI order) supplements—but does not override—court-specific rules; the Judiciary is constitutionally autonomous, so FOI appeals go to the Supreme Court, not the executive.

2. Understanding docket language

Status tag	Meaning (layman’s terms)
Pending	Active; no final entry of judgment yet
Submitted for decision	All pleadings complete; court drafting decision
Partly archived	Case on hold (e.g., at-large accused) but can revive
Decided / Promulgated	Decision rendered, but still appealable within the reglementary period
Entry of Judgment	Decision is final and executory; case closed

3. National-level portals (appellate & special courts)

3.1 Supreme Court

Search scope – petitions, administrative matters, bar matters.
What you need – G.R. number or exact party names.
If no online hit – email the Public Information Office (PIO) with the Access-to-Information Request Form; expect fees for certified true copies (₱50 per certification page + ₱1/folio copying under Rule 141) .

3.2 Court of Appeals

Case-Status Inquiry 3.0 covers Manila, Visayas and Mindanao stations. Search by docket No. (CA-G.R. CR, CV, SP, etc.), party, or digest keywords (services.ca.judiciary.gov.ph).
Outputs include last action (e.g., “submitted for resolution 24 Apr 2025”), division, ponente, next setting.

3.3 Sandiganbayan

The anti-graft court posts each year’s docket folder; use the internal “Search” box for case No. or party (Supreme Court of the Philippines).
Only public orders/decisions appear; pending matters such as sealed plea-bargain motions require a formal records request or counsel’s log-in.

3.4 Court of Tax Appeals

CTA’s portal lets you pull Case Status, Case History, and Court Calendar by docket No. or party name .
Division-level trial notes upload within 24 hours of hearing; En Banc actions post weekly.

4. Regular trial courts & eCourt PH Version 2.0

Roll-out milestone	Courts covered	Key features
Jan 2025 pilot – training held 8-9 Jan 2025 (Supreme Court of the Philippines)	12 pilot RTCs/MeTCs (QC, Manila, Baguio, Angeles, Davao, etc.)	Real-time docket status, e-transcripts, SMS/email hearing notices
Q2 2025 expansion – per SC PIO tweet, First Judicial Region onboarding (X (formerly Twitter))	Laoag, Vigan, San Fernando, Dagupan	Same plus single sign-on for lawyers
Nation-wide goal – Daily Tribune report says full first- and second-level coverage by 2027 (Tribune)	All RTCs, MeTCs, MTCs	Open-data API + kiosk access

How to use eCourt (litigants/lawyers):

Request a One-Time Password from the Clerk of Court to create an account.
Search by docket No. or party; the dashboard shows last order, next hearing date, and scanned pleadings.
Public kiosk mode (for non-parties) truncates addresses and personal identifiers under the Data Privacy Act.

Where the court is not yet on eCourt, you must:

Walk in at the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) with at least one identifier (case No., parties, or filing date).
Fill out the Log-book or Access-to-Records form; pay the viewing fee (₱20) and copying fee (₱5-10/page, plus certification).
Some OCCs accept email requests under OCA Circular 272-2024 FAQ on e-Transmittal (Facebook)—attach a notarised authorization if you are an employer or background screener.

5. Obtaining proof of a case’s pendency or absence

Certificate of Case Status / Non-Pendency – issued by the Clerk of Court upon written request; required for government bids, immigration, or bank loans.
- Fees: ₱50-₱75 certification + ₱1/page copy (Rule 141, as amended 2022) .
- Processing: Same day for first-level courts; 2-5 days for appellate courts.
NBI clearance ≠ court clearance. A person may have an NBI “hit” yet no pending criminal case if the case is already archived or dismissed; always verify directly with the trial court docket.
Electronic “green seal” copies (PDF with QR hash) are valid evidence under the E-Commerce Act and the 2024 Revised Rules on Electronic Evidence; print-outs are self-authenticating when the QR verifies online.

6. Confidential & sealed matters

Case type	Access rule
Family & custody	A.M. No. 03-04-04-SC – docket and records sealed; only parties & counsel may inspect (Respicio & Co.)
Juvenile in conflict with the law	Confidential under R.A. 9344; courts label as “ARCHIVED – JSCC”
National security / terrorism	Classified; motions filed ex parte under the ATA Rule 113-A
Witness protection, plea-bargain drafts, drafts of decisions	Covered by “pre-decisional privilege” under the Rule on Access to Information

7. Remedies when access is denied

Motion for Reconsideration under the Rule on Access – file with the same office within 5 days (no fee).
Petition for Mandamus – file in the proper RTC or CA, citing Art. III §7 (Constitution) and jurisprudence; must show a clear legal right to the docket information.
FOI appeal – only after Rule-based remedies; send to the SC Committee on Access-to-Information.

8. Practical checklist

Identify the level of court first (SC, CA, Sandiganbayan, CTA, or trial) (RESPICIO & CO.).
Start with the relevant online portal; save screenshots for your file.
If no hit, inquire by phone/email; keep tracking No. or acknowledgment.
For certified proof, write to the Clerk of Court and pay the fee.
Respect privacy limits—publishing minors’ names or addresses is contemptuous.
Schedule periodic follow-ups; eCourt sends auto-notifications, but manual dockets move daily.

9. The road ahead

Nation-wide eCourt PH and AI real-time transcription are in accelerated rollout—judiciary targets full coverage of first- and second-level courts by 2027 (Tribune).
Expect public API access to anonymised docket metadata akin to the CA portal, but still subject to the Data Privacy Act.
Bills are pending in Congress to waive certification fees for indigent litigants and to create a unified Judiciary Transparency Portal.

Key take-away

Always combine an online search with an official request for certification. Until eCourt PH covers every sala, the tried-and-tested trip to the Clerk of Court—and a modest fee—remains the gold standard for proving whether a Philippine court case is still pending.